Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 45.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,294 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $108.12 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.